No risk of India losing out on hosting World T20 in 2021, assures Arun Dhumal

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) came under fire last week for failing to provide a Tax exemption letter from the Indian government to the ICC, after they missed out on the deadline for the same, which was May 18, 2020. The board cited the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as the reason for the delay and requested an extension till June 30, but the ICC weren’t having any of it and sent out an aggressive email back to the Indian board, threatening to potentially take away hosting rights of the World T20 2021 and the 2023 Cricket World Cup away from India.

Irked by the ICC’s aggression, the BCCI, in response, sent out an aggressive email of their own, questioning the ICC’s response, and this led to an ugly spat between the two. However, Arun Dhumal, treasurer of the BCCI, has now confirmed that the country is at no threat of having the hosting rights of WT20 2021 being stripped away from it and added that the ICC and BCCI are currently working on resolving the dispute.

“There is no risk to the tournament. That is a work in progress. We are discussing it with the ICC and we’ll resolve it,” Dhumal told Reuters, reported Hindustan Times.

Meanwhile, a TOI report has revealed that the war of words between the ICC and the BCCI generated heat in the ICC’s board meeting on Thursday, with certain members suggesting "the entire matter surrounding the tax solutions, email exchanges between the ICC and the BCCI and the media coverage around the whole episode needs to be revisited in all seriousness".

Post the conclusion of the meeting, the ICC stated that a decision regarding all the ongoing issues, including the future of the World T20 later this year, has been deferred till June 10.